Dogs on the Beach, Dogs on the Beach, What you gonna do? Dogs on the Beach!

Watching my 14 year old yellow Labrador, Chandler, who is arthritic and hip dysplasic, joyfully  retrieve sticks out of water made my thoughts turn to dog beaches.  Is there anything that makes dog happier than water, sand and their beloved master (or mistress). 

Chandler's Fun in the Sun

Dog owners in the United States are becoming more active in pursuing areas where we can take our canine family members, but always being courteous of others, of course!  My home town (Newnan, GA) will be having a Walk-n-Wag fun walk on May 22 with dogs to raise money to purchase more doggie clean up stations in our city.  Not sure if Chandler's arthritis will allow him to walk but I'll take my other beloved lab, Sweetie.

Sweetie kickin' it and drying in the sun

There are many great dog beaches all over the country.  I've been to a few and plan to enjoy more puppy vacations.  DogFancy Magazine has a Get Out of the Cold feature in their March issue, highlighting three beaches. 

Del Mar, North Beach - Dog Beach
When we go to Del Mar, our friend's home looks out on this very dog-friendly stretch of shoreline.  Dog Beach is open year-round to dogs and they may be off leash from after Labor Day to June 15.  During the summer months, dogs are supposed to be on 6-foot leashes. Del Mar is such a pet-welcoming town you see pooches and their family everywhere -  jogging together, dining alfresco at cafes and even visiting the popular Saturday Farmer's Market.   Americana is a great choice for outside dining with your leashed friend and DogFancy recommends a stop at Three Dog Bakery for excellent doggie treats. If you are looking for accommodations so you can stay and play, the Del Mar Inn offers dog-friendly rooms.

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Canoe Trip - Wisconsin

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Chicago Style Hot Dog prepared by Bob, owner of

Chicago Dawgs - Panama City Beach, Florida

He's moved from his restaurant location on

Richard Jackson Blvd (Beckrich Road) to a

catering truck on Thomas Drive near Capt. Jack's.

These dogs are awesome!!

College Road Trip - Take Two

We braved snow last week on the way to Valdosta and on Friday of our Winter Break week, we faced an early alarm clock.  But it wasn't too hard to get up with the dawn - we were heading to Athens to tour the University of Georgia!  Back in the day, Georgia was a huge rival of my school, Clemson University, but I have many friends that are Georgia alumnae, so my feelings about UGA are more positive these days.

Sunlight streaming through UGA's famous arch - tradition is students should not walk through the arch or they won't graduate and prospective students will be jinxed

I've mellowed so much, in fact, that I actually loved the UGA campus.  I've been to it many times over the years - I had a college boyfriend who was a Bulldog; my family has watched the "Dawgs" play on many a football Saturday and we've cheered our son on at swim meets at Georgia's incredible Ramsey Athletic Center.  But this is the first time I have seen the whole campus from a prospective student's POV.

On the road, we stopped for breakfast at that most Southern of institutions, The Waffle House.  If you are not from "Dixie" - The Waffle House must be a requisite stop on your next Southern visit.  Pecan Waffles, cheese grits, hash browns scattered, smothered and chunked - we were fortified for the day ahead. 

Downtown Athens

After a very informative and engaging information session, the kids had "puppy dawg prints" in their eyes.  They were ready to see the campus.  Fortunately, my friend's son is a current Honor's student at the University and he agreed to give us a personalized tour. 

Her son is a member of the Demosthenian Literary Society and he told us all about the history of the society and even showed us the inside parlour of their lovely house. 

I can't remember what all of these buildings are but they show off varied lovely architecture.

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Old Building, Newnan, GA

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Dog Sledding in Wyoming

A Different Kind of College Road Trip

When your babies are born, other parents warn how quickly time will pass by.  You nod sagely and say "I know" but in actuality you have no idea until your little babies are suddenly grown and they are looking toward leaving for college.  The college search is where we now find ourselves.  The memories of fooling with carseats and and cheering at age 5-6 Pony League baseball games are still fresh in my mind.  Now, the family is spending our high school Winter and Spring Breaks visiting college campuses for that inevitable day.

Our eldest son Keegan is a high school Junior and Sean follows right behind him as a Sophomore at Newnan High School.  We actually started our visits during Keegan's freshman year with a visit to my beloved Alma Mater, Clemson University.   They both loved Clemson and have also enjoyed visits to Georgetown, Auburn University and Georgia Tech. 

Clemson's Famous "Death Valley" Football Stadium

Pat and I counseled Keegan about looking at different size colleges, so this weekend we visited Valdosta State, which is has an 11,000 person student body on its campus near the Georgia-Florida border.

Valdosta State University, founded 1906

We left our hometown Newnan around noon in order to miss the huge snowfall heading our way - we eventually got between 4" - 5".  Georgia is extremely ill-equipped to handle the white stuff so we knew to "get out of Dodge"!  We made the drive to Valdosta for Visitation Day in 3-1/2 hours but heard other Atlanta-area families got stuck in the storm and arrived after 7 hours on the road!

Everyone gets excited when in snows in Georgia!

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                           Sunset over the Pacific

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Boundary Waters, Minnesota

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Snorkeling in St. Lucia

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Church on the way to Soufriere, St. Lucia

A Cold Vacation that Warmed My Heart

My husband Pat and I have been married for 20 years and they have been a very good two decades.  When we were first married, he didn't spend much time thinking about gifts and surprises.  For example, one time he gave me a Christmas present..."wrapped" in the bag from the store.  Then there was the matter of clothing size.  In the bag was a warm-up suit:  SIZE LARGE.  If your wife hasn't reached size large yet and you give her a large-size item of clothing, whe will interpret this as  "I don't see you as a petite little flower!" It doesn't engender the happiest of emotions.

The Man

Somewhere along the line, Pat realized putting thought into gifts can reap rewards and his modus of gift-giving is often a vacation getaway.  He started by planning a surprise birthday party for my 30th and has since stepped up his game.   For our 15th anniversary, he secretly planned a surprise destination celebration for us - all I did was pack my bags.  We landed in Las Vegas and went to the Venitian Hotel.  This all-suite hotel is quite luxurious but the biggest gift was he also surprised me by inviting 10 friends (that had been at our wedding) to fly to Vegas to spend the weekend with us.  It was truly special and he said "all the husbands told him they hated him" because it was so thoughtful - now they had to get more creative.

  He rode on those laurels for quite some time

The Venetian

When our 20th rolled around, Pat decided to plan another special getaway.  When I offered suggesions of where I would like to go, he informed me "You are on a 'need to know' basis."  He did ask if I preferred warm or cold weather and I said "definitely warm".  So the day before our late September departure, he told me the weather forecast "Strong possibility of rain for 2 of the 4 days; highs in the upper 50s, lows in the 30s and 40s."  I thought he had to be joking and thought "don't forget to pack your bathing suit!"

We arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; he was able to prevent me from finding out our destination.  He used his Delta Platinum flier status (tons of work travel), to work with the airline personnel to hide our flight info and the security guard agreed to not spill the beans when he gave her both our boarding passes.  After a giddy half hour in the Sky Room (formerly known as the Crown Room), he herded me out to find our gate.  He roamed to a gate departing for Seattle, then dragged me to Cancun counter (yeah!) but we finally arrived at a gate that read: DENVER.  Denver?  "Are we really going to Denver?" I asked.  My mind was whirling with thoughts...There aren't sandy beaches in Denver! Are we having a reunion with his University of Colorado buddies at a football game? What in the heck - what about WARM?  Don't get me wrong - I love Denver and have visited many times.  I was just prepared to slather on sun screen.

The view from our car day one - yes, it started snowing

The weather on landing could only be described as miserable.  I tried to be jovial but I was had a little trouble with pouting.

Galapagos Blue Footed Boobie and chick

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